| The Cherhill white horse is the second
oldest of the Wiltshire horses. It may well have been inspired by
the Westbury horse, as it was cut in 1780, just two years after that
first Wiltshire horse was recut to a new design. The Cherhill white
horse is the work of a Dr Christopher Alsop of Calne, sometimes referred
to as "the mad doctor". He is said to have directed the
marking out of the horse from a distance, calling instructions through
a megaphone. Dr Alsop's design for the horse may have been influenced
by the work of his artist friend George Stubbs, famous for his paintings
of horses and other animals.
This white horse once had an unusual feature, a glass eye. The
centre of the eye was formed from upturned bottles pressed into
the ground to reflect the sunlight. Thus the eye apparently had
a bright gleaming appearance, and was visible from a considerable
distance. The bottles were supplied by a Farmer Angell and his wife.
By the late nineteenth century, though, they no longer remained,
perhaps taken as souvenirs.
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